BOISBRIAND, QUE – Five different players scored for the sixth-ranked McGill University men's hockey team en route to a milestone 5-1 victory over No. 5 Queen's in a fierce battle of Top 10 teams, Saturday.

The result marked McGill's 900th lifetime victory in regular season play since the formation of the Canadian Intercollegiate Hockey Union in 1902. The team's lifetime league record now stands at 900-756-110. Since the McGill hockey program was founded in 1877, McGill has played 2,362 games overall against Canadian university teams, with an all time record of 1187-1048-127.
 
After spotting the Gaels an early lead, the Redbirds rallied with five unanswered goals in a neutral site game played at the Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau, home of the QMJHL's Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.
 
It was a much-anticipated match-up between two longtime foes that first met way back in 1895 and this rendezvous had the look and feel of a playoff game as the Redbirds halted the Gaels seven-game win streak in OUA play, registered a seventh consecutive victory over their arch-rivals and improved the team's lifetime record against Queen's to 137-56-2 overall.

"It's always an intense rivalry, they bring their best game whenever we play them," said associate coach Patrick Delisle-Houde, a former McGill captain now in his fourth year behind the bench, and filling in for David Urquhart while the McGill bench boss is overseas coaching with Team Canada at the FISU World University Winter Games in Italy. "Today, the guys were ready to play a full 60 minutes, right from the start. You could feel it on the bench and we kept (the pace) going, all game long. Our guys started with winning habits from the beginning, kept grinding them down and our power-play clicked at the right time."

Both special teams units worked well, despite the absence of two key players from each team and both head coaches, all of who were at the FISU Games. McGill was 2-for-4, while Queen's went 1-for-4.

Liam Tanner potted the opening marker on a power-play at 12:03 of the first period but McGill team captain Alexandre Gagnon replied at 15:13. Rookie Alexis Morin snapped the  deadlock from a faceoff won by rookie centre Charles Boutin early in the second period with what proved to be the game-winner.

McGill, which was playing its second game in as many nights, had good jump in the third period against the Gaels, who hadn't played in a week. The Redbirds exploded for three goals in the final frame, beginning with PP markers from Maxime Pellerin at 6:58,and Charles-Antoine Dumont at 7:36

Brandon Frattaroli closed out the scoring at 13:54, with his 15th of the season. He ranks second among OUA goal leaders, one shy of Nolan Hutcheson, the Queen's sniper who is currently at the FISU Games.

The Redbirds had a 40-34 edge in shots as senior goaltender Alexis Shank of nearby Laval, Que., made 33 saves for the win. At the opposite end of the ice, Christian Purboo was credited with 35 saves in a losing cause.

McGill improved its fifth-place record to 13-7-0 in the log-jammed OUA East division. The Redbirds are now within striking distance of the second-place Gaels, who dropped to 16-4-0. With eight games remaining before playoffs, Queen's has a six-point lead over McGill, a gap that the Redbirds can reduce to four with a win in a Jan. 25 rematch at Kingston.

Queen's (16-4-0) will try to salvage a win in Quebec when they take on division-leading Concordia (17-2-2) on Sunday (Jan. 19) at 2 p.m. The Gaels will also confront RMC (1-17-2) on Jan. 24 before the return matchup with McGill.

OLDEST HOCKEY RIVALRIES IN NORTH AMERICA:

Mar. 10, 1886: Queen's 1, Royal Military College 0

Feb. 27, 1892: McGill 5, Royal Military College 1

Feb. 2, 1895: Queen's 6, McGill 5

Feb. 8, 1895: Queen's 19, Toronto 3

Feb. 1, 1896: Yale 2, John's Hopkins 2

Mar. 4, 1897: McGill 14, Harvard 1

Jan. 19, 1898: Brown 6, Harvard 0

Feb. 20, 1899: McGill 8, Toronto 4

Feb. 26, 1900: Yale 5, Harvard 4

OLDEST NHL RIVALRY:
Dec. 26, 1917: Toronto Maple Leafs 7, Montreal Canadiens 5

 
SCORING SUMMARY
 
OUA STATS & STANDINGS
 
FISU WINTER GAMES WEBSITE

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
McGill Athletics and Recreation
(514) 983- 7012
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
www.mcgillathletics.ca